WO2005045731A1

WO2005045731A1 - System and method for preparing living will

Info

Publication number: WO2005045731A1
Application number: PCT/KR2004/002876
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yang-Woon Lim
Original assignee: Yang-Woon Lim
Priority date: 2003-11-08
Filing date: 2004-11-08
Publication date: 2005-05-19
Also published as: KR20050044948A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a last will and testament making system and method thereof. The present invention transmits an inherited property list making request, a heir selection request, an inheritance assignment request, and an executor selection request to user terminal on receiving a will making request from the user terminal, transmits a generated will draft to the user terminal, and generates a revised will if there is a supplementary or a revision request. Thus, the testator can make the will satisfying the statutory conditions with ease.

Description

Title of the invention SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PREPARING LIVING WILL

Field of the invention The present invention relates to a last will and testament making system and method thereof, especially, for preventing invalidation of will due to a lack of formality or lack of contents and dispute against the truthfulness and validity.

Background of the invention In modern society, a person is exposed to dangers causing physical injury due to unexpected accidents and mishaps anytime and anywhere. So many people prepare against any accident by being insured, making a last will and testament or a living will(hereinafter, "will") notarized by an attorney and keeping the notarized will. According to Article 1060 of Korean Civil Law, a will has no effect if it does not follow the predetermined forms, and Articles 1065 to 1070 enumerate the forms of will. The five forms of will, which are regulated in Article 1065, are a holograph will, a phonographing will, an notarial will, a confidential will and an oral instructed will. Examining the will making methods among these forms, there are the easiest form of holograph will and the rather complicating forms of notarial will and confidential will. In the holograph will, a testator writes the full text, date, address and name in his own hand and affixes his signature on it. In the notarial will, a testator dictates his last word with participation of two witnesses in front of a notary who writes down the dictation, and affixes his signature and seal on it after confirmation that the dictation and the writing are identical. Also, in confidential will, testator submits sealed documents with signature to at least two witnesses who write their signatures or seal together with the testator to confirm that the document is his will, and the confidential will must be submitted to notary or clerk of a law clerk within 5 days from the date on the document to get a fixed date. Also, in the case of holograph will and the confidential will, someone who keeps the document must submit it to the court and request to approve it right after the testator's death. Among the aforementioned will making methods, it is very easy and convenient to make the holograph. Namely, the holograph will can be made by anyone anywhere without notary or witness. Also, the content of will, the fact of making will, and the existence of will can be kept in secrete. But, in spite of these advantages, the one who is lack of law cannot make the holograph will easily and although he made the will, there is a possibility to be invalid due to the context ambiguity or lack of formality. Also, since a responsible person such as notary did not keep these documents, there is a possibility of loss, forgery, and falsification, and not to be discovered. Also, since there is no one who testifies the truth or falsehood of will, there is a possibility of argument about the truth and validity. Also, in the conventional method of making will, testator entrusts attorney with the will in order to wipe out the argument about the truth or formality of will, but it needs lots of cost. Detailed description of the invention Technical objects The present invention is for overcoming the aforementioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a will making system using network and method thereof, which helps a testator to make the will satisfying the statutory conditions with ease. Another object of the present invention is to provide the will making system using network and method thereof, which can ensure the truth of will after the testator's death by acquiring a certification of the will from a notary office. Still another object of the present invention is to provide the will making system using network, which can clarify the possibility of loss, forgery, falsification, undiscovered by keeping the will in a law office. Still another object of the present invention is to provide the will making system using network, which can eliminate the nullity ground of content or formality in the will and make it possible to change the already-made will with ease.

Technical solution To achieve aforementioned objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there are provided a system, a method, and a computer-readable medium for making will in a will making system being coupled to more than one user terminal via network, comprising: receiving a will making request from the user terminal, transmitting an inherited property list making request, an heir selection request, an inherited property assignment request and an executor selection request to the user terminal, receiving an inherited property list data, a heir selection data, an inherited property assignment data and an executor data from the user terminal, generating a will draft based on the inherited property list data, the heir selection data, the inherited property assignment data and the executor data, and transmitting the will draft to the user terminal. The method according to the present invention further comprises steps of: receiving a supplementary relating to the will draft or a revision request from the user terminal, generating a revised will corresponding to the supplementary or the revision request, and transmitting the revised will to the user terminal. Also, the method according to the present invention further comprises steps of: receiving an inheritance data request from the user terminal, wherein the inheritance data comprises at least one of a nullity ground of will, an inherited property dispute case, an legal inheritance portion, and a legal portion of an heir, and extracting an inheritance data and transmitting the result to the user terminal. Also, the method according to the present invention further comprises steps of: receiving a will confirmation request from the user terminal, attaching a certificate to the revised will, and transmitting a completed will with the certificate to the user terminal. Also, the method according to the present invention further comprises steps of: receiving a user identification data from the user terminal, and attaching the user identification data to the revised will, wherein the user identification data comprises at least one of an electronic signature, a fingerprint, a face image of testator, and an iris data. Also, the completed will to the user terminal can be transmitted the predetermined E-mail address. According to another aspect of the present invention, there are provided a system, a method, and a computer-readable medium for making will in a will making system being coupled to more than one user terminal via network, comprising: receiving a will making request from the user terminal, extracting a will draft being stored in advance, wherein the will draft is one selected from a group consisting of a default will draft and an existing will draft that the testator already made, receiving a revision request for at least one chosen from an inherited property list, an heir selection, an inherited property, and an executor from the user terminal, transmitting an input request or a selection request data corresponding to the revision request to the user terminal, receiving a first revision data corresponding to the input . request or the selection request data from the user terminal, and generating a first revised will based on the revision data and transmitting the result to the user terminal. The method according to the present invention further comprises steps of: inputting a supplementary relating to the revised will, and generating a second revised will corresponding to the supplementary to transmit to the user terminal.

Brief description of the drawings FIG 1 is a schematic diagram of total system for performing the will making method via network according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG 2 is a flowchart of showing the will generating method in the will making system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG 3 to FIG. 15 illustrate screens during the will making procedure. FIG 16 is a flowchart of showing the will generating method in the will making system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG 17 illustrates a screen during the will making procedure. FIG 18 and FIG 19 show forms of will according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Mode of invention Hereinafter, the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with accompanying drawings. FIG 1 is a schematic diagram of total system for performing the will making method via network according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG 1, the will making system 120 comprises a communication part 130, a storage part 135, a will generation part 140 and a controller 145. It is apparent that the will making system 120 can be a part of system in a law office that notarizes the will made by a user who wants to make a will(hereinafter, 'testator'), and can be embodied as a form of software in a web server instead of hardware configuration as shown in FIG 1. The communication part 130 receives a will making request from the testator's terminal 110 via network, and transmits the generated will to the user terminal 110. The user terminal 110 may be any device, for example, computer, mobile terminal, PDA, etc., which can access to the will making system 120 and transmit selection data for making will via network. The storage part 135 stores operating program of the will making system 120, subscription data(e.g., ID, password, name, residence registration number, etc.,) of testator, reference data(e.g., nullity ground of will, inherited property dispute case) to be referred by the testator, draft of will, clause data, and completed will. The will generation part 140 generates a draft of will or completed will based on the selection data of testator. The controller 145 controls the communication part 130, the storage part 135 and the will generation part 140 for testator to make the will by use of the will making system 120.

FIG 2 is a flowchart of showing the will generating method in the will making system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 to FIG 15 illustrate the screens during the will making procedure. Referring to FIG 2, at step 210, the will making system 120 checks if access data(e.g., ID and password) is received from the user terminal 110 via network. Of course, if the testator is not a member of the web site corresponding to the will making system 120, the subscription step can proceed before login. In case of receiving ID and password, at step 215, the will making system 120 checks if access data is valid. If access data is invalid, at step 220, an error message(e.g., "Password is not correct. Enter again") is sent to the user terminal 110 and the procedure returns to step 210. If access data is valid, then the procedure goes to step 225.

At step 225, the will making system 120 performs an inherited property list making process by use of selection data and/or input data transmitted from the user terminal 110. The exemplary screens to be displayed on the display part of the user terminal 110 when the inherited property list making process is performed are shown in FIG. 3 and FIG 4. That is, FIG 3 is a screen for displaying legal inherited property item and FIG 4 is a screen for making inherited property.

The screen as shown in FIG 3 comprises a region for indicating a will making step 310, a preview region 313, and a region for displaying legal inherited property items 316. The region for indicating a will making step 310 indicates that the current step for making will corresponds to which one of total steps, the preview region 313 displays the will that is done up to now, and the region for displaying legal inherited property items 316 displays which properties can be inherited. The region for indicating a will making step 310 and the preview region 313 can be displayed during the entire will making procedure, and the preview region 313 can be displayed only when the testator clicks 'Open' button in order to increase the processing speed of the terminal 110. When the testator clicks 'make' button after referring items to be inherited on the region for displaying legal inherited property items 316, the screen as shown in FIG. 4 is displayed on the user terminal 110. 'Skip' button is for skipping the current step or seeing whole process. The region for making inherited property 320 as shown in FIG 4 is for inputting an inherited property list, and if there are some inherited property to be listed into each item(i.e., proprietary right, obligatory right, intangible property right), then the testator can click 'make' button on the right side of each item to add inherited property. Of course, items for debt can be added besides the items in FIG 4, and various item configurations can be made. Referring to FIG 2 again, at step 230, the will making system 120 checks if an inheritance data request from the testator's terminal 110 is received. Inheritance data, as shown in FIG 5, can be nullity ground of will, inherited property dispute case, legal inheritance portion, legal portion of an heir, and so on. If the inheritance data request is received, at step 235, the will making system 120 sends selected inheritance data to the user terminal 110 and then proceeds to step 240. But, if there is no inheritance data request(e-g-, testator requests to proceed to a step of selecting heir, etc.,), then the will making system 120 proceeds directly to step 240. Hereinafter, procedure for providing inheritance data will be described briefly with referring to FIG 5 to FIG 8. An inheritance data selection screen 325 is shown in FIG 5. If the inheritance data selection screen 325 is displayed on the user terminal 110, the current step in region for indicating a will making step 310 is changed to an inheritance data step. Of course, although the inheritance data step is an additional step, however, it will be described here as if the inheritance data step was one of sequential steps for the convenience of understanding. When the testator clicks 'view' button corresponding to one of inheritance data items(i.e., 1. nullity ground of will, 2. inherited property dispute case, 3. legal inheritance portion) displayed on the user terminal 110, then a screen relating to the clicked item will be displayed. For example, if the testator selects '1. nullity ground of will', then a screen for viewing nullity ground of will 330 as shown in FIG 6 is displayed on the user terminal 110. If the testator wants to check another nullity ground, move to the inheritance data selection screen 325 in FIG 5, end to view inheritance data, or end to make will, then clicks 'new nullity ground', 'return', 'skip' or 'cancel' button, respectively. . Also, when the testator selects '2. inherited property dispute case', then a screen for viewing the inherited property dispute case 335 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed on the user terminal 110. If the testator wants to view another inherited property dispute case, then clicks 'new case' button. Also, when the testator selects '3. legal inheritance portion', then a screen for viewing the legal inheritance portion 340 as shown in FIG 8 is displayed on the user terminal 110. If the testator wants to view detail data(e.g., computation example of inherited property, etc.,), then clicks 'detail data' button. With reference to the step 230 to step 235 and FIG 5 to FIG 8, the testator will recognize that the will made by himself will be valid and prevent the dispute between heirs after testator's death. Referring FIG 2 again, at step 240, the will making system 120 performs an heir selection and estimation process based on the selection data and/or the input data received from the user terminal 110. FIG 9 shows an exemplary screen displayed when the heir selection and estimation process is performed. Referring to an heir and donee selection screen 345, candidates(i.e., family, relative, corporation, foundation, etc,.) who can be an heir or donee are listed, and the testator can select an heir/donee by checking any candidate and clicking a 'confirmation' button. Family and corporation are selected in FIG 9, and when the testator selects any candidate and clicks the 'confirmation' button, then can move to an heir and donee estimation screen 350 in FIG 10. Evaluation on heir and donee who the testator selected is displayed on the heir and donee estimation screen 350 in FIG. 10, and the testator can change any item and content by use of 'add', 'correct', 'delete' buttons. For example, the testator can change the default sentence '(1) In the meantime, OOO...' to '(1) In the meantime, YOEN heung boo...'. The testator can move to next step after changing any item or content and clicking a 'finish' button in the heir and donee estimation screen 350. Of course, if the testator clicks a 'delete' button corresponding any item(e.g., 1. family) on the heir and donee estimation screen 350, heir and donee data can be updated by deleting corresponding item. Referring to FIG 2 again, at step 245, the will making system 120 checks if selection of will details is received from the user terminal 110. As shown in FIG. 11 , selection of any item or addition of new context in a principle of will screen 355 can be ahead of the selection of will details. Of course, the selection of the 'principle of will' item can be performed any step in the will making steps, and the selected principle of will be stated at the beginning of will(FIG 15). If there is a selection of will details, at step 250, corresponding will details is added to the will, and if there is no selection, the procedure proceeds to step 255. For example, the testator can select any item and input the will details on a will details selection screen 360. The will details that the testator can select are ' 1. details of family(e.g., denial of testator's own child, recognition, etc.,)', '2. details of inherited property disposition (e.g., bequeath devise, etc.,)', '3. division of inherited property', etc,. At step 255, the will making system 120 performs an allocation process of inherited property on selection data and/or input data received from the user terminal 110. FIG. 13 shows an allocation of inherited property screen 365. That is, a region for inputting allocation data corresponding to the selected heir or donee is displayed on the user terminal 110. The testator can allocate the inherited property by inputting inherited property data to each heir included in the region for inputting allocation data. Of course, although it is not shown in FIG 13, if the testator inputs a certain amount of money or real estate to a certain heir, it is possible for the testator to allocate the inherited property with ease by displaying the balance of total amount of inherited property or real estate or real estate data. Also, although it is not shown in FIG 13, it is possible to allocate not only positive property but also negative property(debt, etc.,) at the same time. At step 260, the will making system 120 performs an executor selection process based on the selection data and/or input data received from the user terminal 110. FIG. 14 shows an executor selection screen 370. The testator can select more than one person as executor, entrust the selection of executor ot select no one(does not select). When the testator clicks a selection button for selecting more than one executor, additional screen for inputting detail data of executor(e.g., name, relation, residence registration number, etc.,) can be displayed on the user terminal 110. At step 265, the will making system 120 transmits the will being generated through the aforementioned procedure to the user terminal 110. Of course, it is apparent that the aforementioned steps are not sequential but selective and additional steps, so the order of steps can be changed. FIG 15 shows a will draft 380. In the will draft 380, the selected items are arranged in the predetermined order, and the selected or inputted items can be rearranged in the predetermined order. For example, even if the inherited property allocation is inputted in the form of table in the inherited property allocation screen 365 of FIG 13, the content of table can be displayed in the form of sentence. At step 270, the will making system 120 checks if a will revision request is received from the user terminal 110. If the will revision request is received, the will making system 120 regenerates the revised will and proceeds to step 280. But, if there is no will revision request, proceeds directly to step 280. For example, the testator can revise the content of will draft 380 by clicking a 'revise' button on the bottom of will draft in FIG 15, or clicking any step in the region for indicating a will making step 310 and revising the content. Of course, the supervisor of the will making system 120(e.g., attorney) can revise the will draft by inputting a supplementary to generate the revised will. At step 280, the will making system 120 checks if a will confirmation request is received from the user terminal 110. If the will confirmation request is received, at step 285, the will making system 120 sends the completed will to the user terminal 110 via network. Of course, it is apparent that the completed will can be sent to a certain E-mail address that the testator assigned. Before sending the completed will to the assigned E- mail address or recipient or simultaneously, the completed will can be stored in the storage part 135(or additional storage) of the will making system 120. Also, the completed will can be sent to a law office or notary office corresponding to the will making system 120. But, if there is no a will confirmation request, then the procedure returns to step 270 again. And, although it is not shown in FIG 2, a billing step of processing a service charge for using the will making system 120 can be further included. The service charge can be paid by a credit card, a transfer, a cyber money, etc., and various billing methods can be applied to the billing step, however, as these methods are well known in the art, the detailed description will be omitted here. Also, although it is not shown in FIG 2, a step that the supervisor of the will making system 120(e.g., attorney) attaches a certificate can be included in ahead of sending the completed will of step 285. Also, although it is not shown in FIG 2, the testator can make various statutory wills such as a holograph will or phonographing will, and a notarial will at a notary office based on the completed will of step 285. In this case, the notary office keeps the completed will, requests an approval to the court or performs an inheritance procedure, and as a result, the validity of the will is reinforced due to the intervention of the notary office. Although new will making procedure was described above with referring to

FIG 2, if the testator has already made a will in part, the will making system can recognize that fact at step 210 to 220 and process following steps. Also, in case of revising the already-completed will, the will making system can recognize that fact at step 210 to 220 and process following revision steps. Also, although it is not shown in FIG 2, a step of attaching user identification data(e.g., electronic signature, fingerprint, face image of testator, iris data, etc.,) received from the user terminal 110 into the completed will can be included.

FIG 16 is a flowchart of showing the will generating method in the will making system according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 17 illustrates the screen during the will making procedure. Referring to FIG 16, at step 410, the will making system 120 checks if access data(e.g., ID and password) is received from the user terminal 110 via network. In case of receiving access data, at step 415, the will making system 120 checks if access data is valid. If access data is invalid, at step 420, an error message is sent to the user terminal 110 and the procedure returns to step 410. If access data is valid, then the procedure goes to step 425. At step 425, the will making system 120 sends the predetermined will draft to the user terminal 110 via network. Of course, if the testator has already made a will partially or wholly, then the will making system 120 extracts the will to send. At step 430, the will making system 120 checks if a will revision request for the will draft is received from the user terminal 110. FIG 17 shows the will draft displayed on the user terminal 110. The will draft 510 in FIG 17 can comprise a principle of will region 515(FIG 11), an inherited property region 520(FIG 3 and 4), an heir selection and estimation region 525(F1G 9 and 10), a debt region 530(316 in FIG 3 and FIG 13), a detail data region 535(FIG 13), an executor region 540(FIG 14), and several function buttons. The testator can revise each item by clicking function buttons(e.g., input property list, correct, delete, add, etc.,) corresponding to each region. As the step of revising each region is same as the aforementioned step in FIG 3 to FIG 14, detailed description will be omitted here. As shown in FIG. 17, it is apparent that the will making method according to the present invention should not be limited to the order of sequential steps but the testator can make the will by freely selecting any step or region. At step 435, if the will revision request is received, the will making system 120 sends an input request and/or a selected list for revising the will to the user terminal 110.

The input request and/or the selected list can be applied in the same way of the examples described with FIG 3 to FIG 14. At step 440, the will making system 120 receives input data and/or selection data from the user terminal 110 to generate the revised will and transmits the revised will to the user terminal 110. Then, the will making system 120 proceeds to step 445. But, if there is no will revision request, then the will making system 120 proceeds directly to step 445. At step 445, the will making system 120 checks that a will confirmation request is received from the user terminal 110. If the will confirmation request is received, then the will making system 120 sends the completed will to the user terminal 110 via network. But, if there is no will confirmation request, then the will making system 120 returns to step 430. Of course, as aforementioned, it is apparent that a revision step by supervisor of inputting a supplementary to the will making system 120, step of attaching certificate, billing step, step of attaching user identification data of testator, etc., can be further included.

FIG 18 and FIG 19 show forms of will according to another embodiment of the present invention. The forms of will as shown in FIG. 18 and FIG 19 are composed of the first property item, selected heir of the first property, the second property, selected heir of the second property, date, signature, etc. That is, it helps the testator to make a will just by inputting essential data briefly. Of course, there are many forms of will applicable to the will making system and method according to the present invention. Since it is apparent to those who skilled in the art that the aforementioned steps of making will may be adopted freely or reconfigured, detailed description will be omitted here. Since the accompanying drawings and the detailed description are only examples of the present invention, it is only for describing the present invention not for limiting the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those who skilled in the art will understand that many changes and equivalent embodiments can be made without departing from the present invention. Thus, the true scope of the present invention must be determined by the accompanying claims.

Industrial applicability As aforementioned, the will making system using network and method thereof according to the present invention help the testator to make the will satisfying the statutory conditions with ease. Also, the present invention can ensure the truth of will after the testator's death by acquiring a certification of the will from a notary office. Also, the present invention can clarify the possibility of loss, forgery, falsification, undiscovered by keeping the will in a law office. Also, the present invention can eliminate the nullity ground of content or formality in the will and make it possible to change the already-made will with ease. Although the present invention is described with reference of the preferred embodiments, those who skilled in the art will understand that many changes and equivalent embodiments can be made without departing from the spirits and scope of the present invention.

Claims

Claims 1. A method for making will in a will making system being coupled to more than one user terminal via network, comprising: receiving a will making request from the user terminal; transmitting an inherited property list making request, an heir selection request, an inherited property assignment request and an executor selection request to the user terminal; receiving an inherited property list data, a heir selection data, an inherited property assignment data and an executor data from the user terminal; generating a will draft based on the inherited property list data, the heir selection data, the inherited property assignment data and the executor data; and transmitting the will draft to the user terminal.

2. The method in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a supplementary relating to the will draft or a revision request from the user terminal; generating a revised will corresponding to the supplementary or the revision request; and transmitting the revised will to the user terminal.

3. The method in claim 1 further comprising: receiving an inheritance data request from the user terminal, wherein the inheritance data comprises at least one of a nullity ground of will, an inherited property dispute case, an legal inheritance portion, and a legal portion of an heir; and extracting an inheritance data and transmitting the result to the user terminal.

4. The method in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a will confirmation request from the user terminal; attaching a certificate to the revised will; and transmitting a completed will with the certificate to the user terminal.

5. The method in claim 1 further comprising: receiving a user identification data from the user terminal; and attaching the user identification data to the revised will, wherein the user identification data comprises at least one of an electronic signature, a fingerprint, a face image of testator, and an iris data.

6. The method in claim 4, wherein transmitting the completed will to the user terminal is transmitting the completed will to a predetermined E-mail address.

7. A method for making will in a will making system being coupled to more than one user terminal via network, comprising: receiving a will making request from the user terminal; extracting a will draft being stored in advance, wherein the will draft is one selected from a group consisting of a default will draft and an existing will draft that the testator already made; receiving a revision request for at least one chosen from an inherited property list, an heir selection, an inherited property, and an executor from the user terminal; transmitting an input request or a selection request data corresponding to the revision request to the user terminal; receiving a first revision data corresponding to the input request or the selection request data from the user terminal; and generating a first revised will based on the revision data and transmitting the result to the user terminal.

8. The method in claim 7 further comprising: inputting a supplementary relating to the revised will; and generating a second revised will corresponding to the supplementary to transmit to the user terminal.

9. A computer-readable medium including a program containing computer- executable instructions for performing the method for making will in a will making system being coupled to more than one user terminal via network, comprising: receiving a will making request from the user terminal; transmitting an inherited property list making request, an heir selection request, an inherited property assignment request and an executor selection request to the user terminal; receiving an inherited property list data, a heir selection data, an inherited property assignment data and an executor data from the user terminal; generating a will draft based on the inherited property list data, the heir selection data, the inherited property assignment data and the executor data; and transmitting the will draft to the user terminal.

10. A computer-readable medium including a program containing computer- executable instructions for performing the method for making will in a will making system being coupled to more than one user terminal via network, comprising: receiving a will making request from the user terminal; extracting a will draft being stored in advance, wherein the will draft is one selected from a group consisting of a default will draft and an existing will draft that the testator already made; receiving a revision request for at least one chosen from an inherited property list, an heir selection, an inherited property, and an executor from the user terminal; transmitting an input request or a selection request data corresponding to the revision request to the user terminal; receiving a first revision data corresponding to the input request or the selection request data from the user terminal; and generating a first revised will based on the revision data and transmitting the result to the user terminal.